Click here for Greater Long Island newsletters. Click here to download the iPhone app. Or follow Greater East End on Instagram.
It started with a phone call from an NBA agent last Thursday, asking to use the Southampton High School gym for a couple of hours on Friday. For Southampton Athletic Director Darren Phillips, the request was nothing out of the ordinary.
“Jimmy Butler, JJ Redick, Kevin Love, Kyle Kuzma, Draymond Green — they’ve all worked out here during previous summers. Draymond was here last summer,” Phillips told Greater Long Island.
So, when Phillips got the call from Green’s representative, he assumed the Golden State Warriors’ four-time All-Star was back in town and needed a place to train. Phillips agreed and booked the gym for two hours.
But when he showed up Friday morning, he quickly realized it would be anything but an ordinary day. Green wasn’t coming.
Instead, it was arguably the greatest basketball player of this generation. LeBron James — who shares an agent with Green — was the one looking to use the facility.
“I was in a state of shock, disbelief,” Phillips said. “I said to LeBron’s people, you’ve got to be kidding me. Did I hear you right?”
There were some ground rules, Phillips explained: no cell phones, no video while LeBron was working out, and only a handful of approved spectators were allowed inside the gym. And King James had one more request — he needed a workout partner and someone to rebound for him.
That’s where rising Southampton High School senior Alex Franklin came in. The varsity basketball player was on his way to train when he was asked to take a detour.
[Scroll down for photos.]
“At first I thought it was a joke,” Franklin told Greater Long Island. “But a lot of famous people have come out here, so I knew it was a possibility and wasn’t out of the question.”
It turned out to be a workout Franklin will never forget.
“He broke down a lot of the drills he was doing for me. We went over comforts and weaknesses, how to read my defender. It’s crazy the mind he has with basketball — it’s ridiculous.”
Franklin says the experience created memories that will last a lifetime.
“My phone is still blowing up to this day. It’s just been crazy. People are coming up to my friends and saying, ‘Wow, you’re friends with the kid that worked out with LeBron.’”
Franklin also told us he’s a Knicks fan — but says he’ll always be rooting for LeBron now, too.
LeBron returned to the Southampton gym again on Monday for another private workout. Phillips said the agent called back Sunday night and asked, “Can we do one more day?” Franklin wasn’t there for the second session.
James, a four-time NBA champion and 21-time NBA All-Star, is preparing for his record-breaking 23rd NBA season. He recently opted into a player option to return to the Los Angeles Lakers — though trade rumors have been swirling around the league regarding a possible move for the NBA legend.
Photos
Courtesy photos
